OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Hello!
I'd like to ask you for help. My son has been playing table tennis for about two years now, and he's made significant improvements. He started with the Joola Match paddle and then switched to the Butterfly Ovtcharov Black, which he currently uses. While watching him play, I've noticed that his current paddle offers good control but seems to lack speed. Can you recommend an upgrade to his current paddle? We're looking for something that can increase speed while maintaining a high level of control. I came across a review of the Bribar Allround Professional (Joola Falcon + Joola Zack) and I'm wondering if this would be a step up. Do you also have any recommendations for pre-assembled paddles or blades with rubbers that can be assembled?
Thank you!

I don't think anyone here will have any experience with the pre-made bats you mentioned. I can't even find that butterfly bats' specs when I search for it.

My suggestion for a first custom bat would be a stiff 7 ply blade like an avalox p700, with 729 fx 2.0mm. If you want more speed, then instead of 729 fx, you can use a soft tensor like andro impuls powersponge.

At a beginner level I generally recommend a 5 ply all wood blade, any one will do, there are literally hundreds available. For a rubber I generally recommend razka 7.

Agreed on the 5 ply wood.. my preference is the Sanwei M8 blade. Rakza 7 should be fine, but so would a couple sheets of any of the $5 Chinese rubbers such as Yinhe 9000 or 729 or Kokutaku 868. Get the shop to put the rubber on for you.

Iskandar

Hello again, and thank you all for your replies! I'm now considering Yasaka Sweden Extra, but I'm not sure about the rubber. I'm considering Rakza 7, Rakza 7 soft, and Mark V (2 mm, probably?). Which one should I prefer, and should the same rubber be used for both BH and FH at this level of a player's experience? Thanks!

Any of those will work. They're not exactly the same, but they'll all work more or less the same nonetheless. I'd just go for the cheapest one myself.. Maybe two different ones, stick one on one side and another on the other side. That way you can see if they're really all that different.

Iskandar

The Yasaka Sweden Extra is an excellent choice for a beginners blade, well done. Its not to fast or to slow. I would get Rakza 7 on FH and Mark V on BH. 1.8mm is enough for both sponges.

I'd actually get the Max sponge. The thinner sponge would have been good when the ball was 38mm, now I'd argue it's too thin unless you are a blocker, a chopper or use a balsa blade.

Iskandar